Yantai's foreign trade hits record high in Q1

The foreign trade volume of Yantai, a coastal city in East China's Shandong province, expanded 8 percent year-on-year to 103.53 billion yuan ($15.72 billion) in the first three months of the year, and set a new record, according to the city's customs authorities.

Statistics showed that in the first quarter of the year, Yantai's exports totaled 61.49 billion yuan, up 14.1 percent, and imports increased by 0.1 percent to 42.04 billion yuan.

Yantai's general trade imports and exports totaled 54.03 billion yuan, growing by 23.7 percent year-on-year, and accounted for 52.2 percent of the city's total foreign trade volume, while that of bonded logistics surged to 21.97 billion yuan, up 27.7 percent year-on-year.

Private enterprises are still playing a leading role in Yantai's foreign trade growth. Their imports and exports increased by 34.8 percent year-on-year to 60.82 billion yuan during the January to March period, accounting for 58.7 percent of the city's total amount.

Foreign-funded firms posted a total foreign trade volume of 38.37 billion yuan, down 13.6 percent year-on-year, and that of State-owned enterprises decreased by 31.1 percent to 4.26 billion yuan.

The Unites States was Yantai's largest trade partner in the first quarter of this year, followed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and Japan. The city saw robust growth in its foreign trade with ASEAN countries and regions in the first quarter of this year, with the trade volume rising by 51.9 percent year-on-year to 13.93 billion yuan.